Wow! moments
I have been drinking coffee since I was about ten. I learned to enjoy its taste during some quality bonding time with my grandfather. Quite often Grandpa and I would sit perched in lawn chairs under the night sky with cups of coffee in hand. I am not entirely sure I really liked the taste of coffee back then, but I so wanted to be like Grandpa, and he drank so much coffee that he often smelled like a mixture of coffee and Stetson cologne.
After many years of drinking the steaming beverage, I really began to believe the commercial that said, "The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup." Although there were times when I would venture out of my coffee rut and take part in a creamy cappuccino, those occurrences were rare. For the most part, I always drink my coffee black and plain.
A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit the local coffee shop. When asked to meet someone there, I was excited. However, I had no idea what was waiting on the other side of the shop's front door.
As soon as I walked into the store, I knew I was in trouble. I had never seen so many flavors of coffee before! I knew I would look really silly walking up to the counter, looking at the cashier and saying, "Could I have Folgers, please?" Especially after the person in front of me so expertly ordered a vanilla mocha something or other with one shot of something I now believe may have been espresso. I did the only thing I could think of to do. I looked at the cashier and placed my order something like this...
"Uh ... I'll take ... uh ... whatever he just ordered."
Feeling a little ignorant, I decide to betray my limited knowledge and informed the cashier that I had never seen so many flavors of coffee before. As the lady behind the counter began mixing the concoction I had just ordered, I waited patiently, trying not to let my embarrassment show.
Even though I had no idea what was in the paper cup that I had received from the waitress, the creamy, hot liquid was surprisingly tasty. I sat back in my chair and enjoyed an eye-opening "wow" moment. That one trip to the coffee shop created in me a desire to return to the coffee house every morning trying a new flavor each time. This desire, however, was short-lived, since various obstacles have jumped in between me and my coffee obsession. The fact is that if I really was dedicated to my pursuit of new coffee flavors I would find a way to partake. It is simply too much of an inconvenience for me.
After pondering this for a while, I realized my coffee issue is similar to many other situations in life. Sometimes it is much easier to continue down the same beaten path day in and day out even though there really is little pleasure in doing so. We get ourselves in a rut and refuse to turn life up a notch, even if it is for our best. How many times have I put off making changes or pursuing dreams in life because it took too much energy or seemed too costly at the time? I think the cost of allowing life to pass us by because we are afraid to push relentlessly forward to attain our "wow" moments, is far greater than any price paid for keeping our lives renewed and refreshed.